Cytotoxicity of new Ho(III) and Pr(III) complexes

New complexes of coumarin-3-carboxylic acid (HCCA) with Ho(III) and Pr(III) were synthesized and their structures and spectral properties were investigated by elemental analysis, IR, Raman and NMR measurements. According to the experimental data the complexes' formula and geometries were suggested. Vibrational frequencies, IR intensities and Raman activities as well as ¹H NMR chemical shifts of HCCA and its Ho(III) and Pr(III) complexes were presented. The comparative experimental vibrational and NMR analyses of both the ligand and the Ln(III) complexes predicted the bidentate binding to Ho(III) and Pr(III) through the deprotonated carboxylic oxygen and the carbonylic oxygen of the ligand. The cytotoxic/cytostatic properties of the ligand and the newly synthesized complexes of coumarin-3-carboxylic acid with Ho(III) and Pr(III) were tested by MTT reduction assay against two mouse tumor cell lines: melanoma B16 and fibrosarcoma L929. They were also tested for cytotoxicity against normal mouse peritoneal macrophages. The proliferation inhibitory effect of the complexes compared to that of the ligand proved their cytotoxic/cytostatic properties against both the tumor cell lines. In addition, the complexes were less cytotoxic against normal mouse macrophages and were able to modulate NO release by activated macrophages. The obtained results were in accordance with our previously published data concerning the activity of lanthanide(III) complexes with other coumarin derivatives.     

Lateral epitaxial overgrowth of GaN films on SiO2 areas via metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy

Lateral epitaxial growth and coalescence of GaN regions over SiO₂ masks previously deposited on GaN/AlN/6H-SiC(0001) substrates and containing 3 μm wide rectangular windows spaced 7 μm apart have been achieved. The extent and microstructural characteristics of these regions of lateral overgrowth were a complex function of stripe orientation, growth temperature, and triethylgallium (TEG) flow rate. The most successful growths were obtained from stripes oriented along 〈1 00〉 at 1100°C and a TEG flow rate of 26 μmol/min. A density of ∼10⁹ cm⁻² threading dislocations, originating from the underlying GaN/AlN interface, were contained in the GaN grown in the window regions. The overgrowth regions, by contrast, contained a very low density of dislocations. The surfaces of the coalesced layers had a terrace structure and an average root mean square roughness of 0.26 nm.     

Hydrolytic degradation of poly(oxyethylene)–poly-(ε-caprolactone) multiblock copolymers

The degradation of poly(oxyethylene)–poly(ε-caprolactone) (POE–PCL) multiblock copolymers was investigated at 37°C in a 0.13M, pH 7.4 phosphate buffer selected to mimic in vivo conditions. The copolymers were obtained by coupling polycaprolactone diols and poly(ethylene glycol) diacids using dicyclohexylcarbodiimide as coupling agent. Various techniques, such as weighing, size exclusion chromatography, infrared, ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance, differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffractometry, were used to monitor changes in total mass, water absorption, molar mass, thermal properties, degree of crystallinity, and composition. The results showed that introduction of POE sequences considerably increased the hydrophilicity of the copolymers as compared with PCL homopolymers. Nevertheless, the degradability of PCL sequences was not enhanced due to the phase separation between the two components. Significant morphological changes were also observed during the degradation. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 68: 989–998, 1998     

Cytotoxicity of new Ho(Ⅲ) and Pr(Ⅲ) complexes

New complexes of coumarin-3-carboxylic acid(HCCA) with Ho(Ⅲ) and Pr(Ⅲ) were synthesized and their structures and spectral properties were investigated by elemental analysis,IR,Raman and NMR measurements.According to the experimental data the complexes’ formula and geometries were suggested.Vibrational frequencies,IR intensities and Raman activities as well as 1H NMR chemical shifts of HCCA and its Ho(Ⅲ) and Pr(Ⅲ) complexes were presented.The comparative experimental vibrational and NMR analyses of both the ligand and the Ln(Ⅲ) complexes predicted the bidentate binding to Ho(Ⅲ) and Pr(Ⅲ) through the deprotonated carboxylic oxygen and the carbonylic oxygen of the ligand.The cytotoxic/cytostatic properties of the ligand and the newly synthesized complexes of coumarin-3-carboxylic acid with Ho(Ⅲ) and Pr(Ⅲ) were tested by MTT reduction assay against two mouse tumor cell lines:melanoma B16 and fibrosarcoma L929.They were also tested for cytotoxicity against normal mouse peritoneal macrophages.The proliferation inhibitory effect of the complexes compared to that of the ligand proved their cytotoxic/cytostatic properties against both the tumor cell lines.In addition,the complexes were less cytotoxic against normal mouse macrophages and were able to modulate NO release by activated macrophages.The obtained results were in accordance with our previously published data concerning the activity of lanthanide(Ⅲ) complexes with other coumarin derivatives.     

Domain epitaxial growth of TiN/Si(001), TiN/GaAs(001), and Si/TiN/Si(001) heterostructures by laser physical vapor deposition: Theory and experiment

We have successfully deposited epitaxial titanium nitride films on (001) silicon and (001) gallium arsenide substrates and multilayer Si/TiN/Si(001) epitaxial heterostructures using pulsed laser (KrF: λ = 248 nm, τ = 25 ns) physical vapor deposition. The deposition of TiN was carried out at a substrate temperature of 600°C on Si(001) and 400°C on GaAs(00l). The interfaces were sharp without any indication of interfacial reaction. The epitaxial relationships were found to be <001> TiN ‖<001> Si on the silicon substrate, <001> Si ‖<001> TiN |<001> Si on the heterostructure, and [1-10] TiN‖[110] GaAs and [001] TiN ‖[110] GaAs on the GaAs substrate. The growth in these large-mismatch systems is modeled and the various energy terms contributing to the growth of these films are determined. The domain matching epitaxy provides a mechanism of epitaxial growth in systems with large lattice mismatch.The epitaxial growth is characterized by domain epitaxial orientation relationships with m lattice constants of epilayer matching with n of the substrate and with a small residual domain mismatch present in the epilayer. This residual mismatch is responsible for a coherent strain energy. The magnitude of compression of Ti-N bond in the first atomic layer, contributing to the chemical free energy of the interface during the initial stages of growth, is found to be a very important factor in determining the orientation relationship. This result was used to explain the differences in the orientaion relationships between TiN/Si and TiN/GaAs systems. The various energy terms associated with the domain epitaxial growth are evaluated to illustrate that the domain epitaxial growth is energetically favorable compared to the lattice mismatched epitaxial growth. The results of this analysis illustrate that the observed variations in the epitaxial growth are consistent with the minimum energy configurations associated with the domain epitaxial growth.     

Discovering branching and fractional dependencies in databases

The discovery of dependencies between attributes in databases is an important problem in data mining, and can be applied to facilitate future decision-making. In the present paper some properties of the branching dependencies are examined. We define a minimal branching dependency and we propose an algorithm for finding all minimal branching dependencies between a given set of attributes and a given attribute in a relation of a database. Our examination of the branching dependencies is motivated by their application in a database storing realized sales of products. For example, finding out that arbitrary p products have totally attracted at most q new users can prove to be crucial in supporting the decision making.In addition, we also consider the fractional and the fractional branching dependencies. Some properties of these dependencies are examined. An algorithm for finding all fractional dependencies between a given set of attributes and a given attribute in a database relation is proposed. We examine the general case of an arbitrary relation, as well as a particular case where the problem of discovering the fractional dependencies is considerably simplified.